Bill The Builder

Wow… I can’t believe that American women aren’t outraged. Women have been reduced to nothing more than the sexual play-things of men for generations. You see it everywhere, women used to promote items from car wax to now, web hosting. These ads were in poor taste at best and outrageously insult women.

If someone you know is hosting with Go Daddy you should seriously question their integrity. Why stoop to such questionable, at best, insulting, at worst,  measures to generate traffic to your business. Is Go Daddy suffering that badly? Are they that desperate for business that they define their target audience as a bunch of primate men who feel women serve only one purpose?

I know I am playing into their hands by even posting this. But I wanted to make sure I went on record as saying I am sickened by the primitive tactics Go Daddy uses in this ad campaign. I am sorry for the decades of relapse they have brought to our American society. Women~ you are brilliant, creative, and responsible assets to our society and to American business growth. To see you reduced to sexual play things is insulting to you and offensive to any truly American man with strong human value and love for the American dream which includes human equality and value, regardless of race, gender, religious views, or age.

The primitive small-minded adolescents who crafted and authorized this ad campaign are not trustworthy and have little regard to the consequences of their actions. Such disregard for American values should not be tolerated by American consumers.

Here is a man with the backbone to say it out loud, these videos are not fun, entertaining or attractive. They are a reproach the American culture.

The present economy certainly creates some unique challenges. From budget cuts to changing attitudes of customers. OUTSTANDING businesses must adapt to the changing times, trends and best practices.

In every economy there are four catalysts that leading businesses understand. They have never changed and never will. Some of the world’s most OUTSTANDING business leaders took advantage of these catalysts in tough times to launch their businesses. Some Icons that remain include Hyatt, Burger King and FedEx.

Burger King, with its flame-broiled burgers, is an OUTSTANDING recession startup. The company began in 1954 when James McLamore and David Edgerton opened a Burger King restaurant in Miami, Fla. During yet another recession in 1957, the company introduced its signature burger, the Whopper. Today Burger King is OUTSTANDING in 65 countries.

Hyatt opened its first hotel’s doors at Los Angeles International Airport during the Eisenhower recession. The chain rose to worldwide fame in the following decades and now operates more than 365 hotels in 25 countries.

FedEx began operations on April 17, 1973 as Federal Express. Founder Frederick W. Smith had hoped to get a contract with the Federal Reserve, when he didn’t he set and ambitious goal and challenged his team. The company delivered 186 packages to 25 cities on its first night of operations and now manages more than 7.5 million shipments everyday worldwide.

All three of these companies capitalize on the 4 momentum catalysts we will explore here.

Efficiency

The key to sustainable profitability is lean productive operations. One of the biggest roadblocks to sustainable business momentum is wasted effort. Systems support good habits and good habits make us consistently effective. When you have discovered activities that produce results it is critical that you implement systems and processes that accommodate those activities.

We recently discovered a niche group with a need for our keynote and event services. To our surprise these groups proved highly profitable. Unfortunately we had not made effort to reach these groups. We immediately began brainstorming ways to connect with them and began the process of building this group into our marketing campaigns. Reaching these groups required no greater effort, just differently focused effort.

I often hear people say, “marketing doesn’t work.” This usually means they aren’t using effective methods or are not focused in their efforts. I may be aggressively growing my network and contact list by thousands. But if my efforts are not targeted I may never see much ROI. In example, imagine I am in the business of low glycemic snacks. My list of thousands of contacts contains 40 percent between the ages of 18 and 28; these are clearly not my target audience. Effort is being made. The right efforts are being made. But when results aren’t produced we assume the system is broken.

Here are three efforts that will sharpen your efforts and improve your results.

Sharpen your skills.

Make sure you know how to use your software and resources. The better you know your tools and resources the more you can accomplish in less time. Familiarity with tools and resources reduces errors and makes you appear more polished when dealing with customers as well.

Prioritize and schedule your day’s activities by priority.

A good rule is to identify your “in stone” appointments first thing. These would include scheduled meetings, conference calls, client appointments or any event that is planned. Once you have identified those, determine which ones need preparation and how much time is needed to prepare; plan preparation into the day’s calendar. One last tip is to plan for known necessary duties. You know you will have email to tend to, so plan for it. A great plan for me has been as follows:

1. At the start of the day I check my inbox

• Make quick responses if possible (I follow a 30 second rule)
• Delete obvious spam and update my spam filters and rules to reduce it in the future. (avoid spending too much time on the spam control, but it is worth a little effort)
• Mark or flag important emails for immediate attention
• Move any mail you can to appropriate folders for organization and latter review

 

2. I watch my incoming mail notifications throughout the day. Be wary against non-productive interruptions.

3. I spend a few minutes on email at lunch time.

4. I do a mid-afternoon sweep of email to keep it under control

5. Before ending the day I clean up email with the following:

• Forward anything I can to another responsible party
• Deal with any 30 second responses
• Organize messages into appropriate folders where possible
• Determine if new rules and auto responses can handle some of my email and set those rules when practical.
• Consider forwarding qualified emails to a remote email for after hour response when possible.

 Prioritize, plan and polish your efforts every day to stay on the cutting edge.

 Innovation

FedEx is known for its commitment to efficiency and performance. Innovation is the key to staying on the cutting edge. By constantly analyzing our efforts and improving ensures we stay fresh and productive. Innovation is also a great way to stay relevant and trustworthy for our client base. I hold monthly meetings with my team and accountability partners to address 3 questions that keep us relevant and sharp.

 Are there new or better resources or tools that might help improve our customer relations, productivity or profit margin? These may be improved tools, lower cost tools or simply trends that position us as cutting edge when used.

 Are there processes that are unneeded or not returning a higher return than investment? Trimming the fat is critical in this economy. Trimming the fat may mean reducing the effort, eliminating the effort or refocusing the effort.

 What new information or ideas should be explored? I make note of new ideas, problems or observations made that might prove of interest to our business. Exploring these gives us the opportunity to innovate and lies to rest the bad ideas.

 Marketing

It is absolutely critical that we do the marketing regardless of the economy. It is equally important that we use the best and most practical techniques. I have noticed a revival of social networking across every business group. This is in part due to social media, but the reality is that when times are tough buyers are tougher. Customers want to know who they are doing business with. Networking gives us the opportunity to see, hear and touch. When done right networking allows you to connect with lots of people and be seen by even more. When I go to networking events I hand out full color mini brochures instead of business cards. They are information packed and interesting. I have observed others showing my little brochure to others in the group. I have had people approach me to ask for one.

The bottom line in marketing is impression. Make as many impressions as you can and the more impressive the impression he greater the results.

 Engagement

Perhaps the greatest weakness shared by the majority of business professionals is follow-up. We connect with people and then fail to follow-up with them. I know from experience, dropped balls and failure to follow-up is the single greatest deficit in any marketing strategy.

 Here are three ways to follow up and profitize your relationships.

 Add value

Once you have made a connection or have someone’s contact information immediately start making them glad they know you. Share your secrets, tips and tricks that will prove valuable to them. One of the greatest ways to create value for another business is to give referrals and leads. However, to do this you need to know and trust the provider you are referring.

 Inform

Make sure every contact knows everything they need to know to do business with you. What services do you offer? How are they provided? What payment options exist? Who else do you do business with? Why should any of this matter to your new contact? How can they contact you?

 Understand

This is a powerful follow-up technique. Send an email asking questions about the new contact’s business. Let them tell you about themselves. Read reviews and find out who they do business with. Ask yourself, why should all of this matter to me?

If you immediately start sharpening your momentum catalyst you will quickly start standing out.

Subscribe to our momentum news list to learn about events and gain FREE access to momentum building resources including videos, audios and ebooks. Simpy visit www.charlesspeaks.com and enter your name and email on the right side of the page for immediate access to the download vault and hundreds of dollars in business momentum resources.

Getting people to communicate is powerful, getting them to talk about you, in nearly any context, is profitable, or can be. Social media is an excellent environment in which to engage people in conversation. If you can become part of or the subject rather than just a conversationalist you have created a powerful marketing engine.

Obviously, good press is better than bad press; but any press is better than no press. Whether in news, blog posts, tweets or YouTube views press creates recognition and recognition equals brand power. An excellent example of this occurred recently on LinkedIn.

I want to start by commending Mr. Brown on excellent engagement. I have often stated in my seminars and keynotes that controversy can be a powerful tool for brand saturation. Rich Brown has become quite a household name on linkedcolumbus, a LinkedIn group of over 7,000 members. He started a conversation on a complex and controversial topic. His discussion harvested 146 comments in only 19 days. Whether he knows it or not he has a captive audience that would unquestionably buy a few copies of a relevant ebook or audio which could be created with little effort.

Rich Brown did a great job facilitating the discussion and keeping participants engaged. The longer they are engaged the more influence Rich builds. Here are five rules we should all apply when engaging controversial discussions.

1. Don’t ostracize those who disagree with you. Graciously disagree and agree to disagree. Blocking, unfriending, disconnecting those who disagree is not only rude but shows fear and insecurity. If someone, becomes belligerent or hateful try responding as follows: “Obviously, you feel very strongly about your position and I truly respect that. However, I don’t appreciate your unkind words or insults. I think both of us will gain more respect if we keep the conversation professional, respectful and kind; can you agree to that?” If their rude comments were private, keep your reply private. If they went public do the same with your reply. If the individual continues to be belligerent make a final reply to their next rude comment like this: “You unethical and immature remarks neither substantiate your position nor negate the validity of my arguments. It is unlikely that anyone with integrity or credibility will regard you posts.” This would be the last time I engage this person.

3. Never call names or insult people because of their position. I’ll admit I wrestle with this, and have probably been unkind in the past. It doesn’t likely help your argument and certainly reduces the possibility someone might do business with you.

4. Avoid statements or arguments that can’t be substantiated unless you preface them as opinion.

5. Acknowledge strong or sound arguments even if they oppose your position.

If you are a part of active discussions your inbox may become overwhelmed. Here are a couple of tips that may help you get the best out of you social media experience.

1. You can simply stop following the discussion. This option is at the top of the discussion home page on LinkedIn.

2. Set a rule in your email management software, even Yahoo has this option, to move emails with a specific phrase to a special folder. This allows you to sort through them when you’re ready and keeps your in-box uncluttered. I.e. you might have a rule that relocates any email with the phrase, “are you aware” to the politics folder.

Learning to manage Web 2.0 communication effectively will help you get more out of the social experience and build more leads. I talked to a guy a few weeks ago who has learned to “reverse spam” those spammers sending unsolicited email to him. He has actually closed some sales with those leads.

So, even spam can be a good thing if you get your head out of the sands of negativity.

Bill Carpenter AKA Bill The Builder is a widely respected expert on branding and creative marketing solutions. Hel helps his clients position themselves and celebrity like experts in their niche fields of interest to increase credibility and customer reach. From effective web presence to social media engagement he has help numerous clients increase sales and customer satisfaction. He is available for keynotes, seminars and webinars as well as personal coaching. charles@charlesspeaks.com or 937-935-6789

Reduce Your Marketing Budget While Increasing Sales

In this economy every business, big and small, is looking for ways to reduce cost and increase profits. One of the questions I’ve been hearing is, “Should we cut our marketing budget?” The short answer is no. That is unless you are retooling your marketing efforts with proven tools and techniques that cost less. In this article I am suggesting a timeless marketing technique that doesn’t have to cost a dime.

Networking is something all living organisms do naturally. The strongest have just learned how to do it better. In business networking means connections and visibility. The more you network the better you are known.

Think of networking as team building. Your team will work for you at all times. To network well, you need to first decide who you need on your team.

The most obvious question that will help you build your team is to ask, “Who are my customers?”

Think about your most faithful customers. You might want to find out about their interests. Where do they spend their time? What are their hobbies? What are their causes? If you discover they have a favorite charity you might ask, “How can I help with that?” If you find out they are attending an upcoming event you might plan on attending yourself. By getting involved with their causes and attending the events they attend, you create opportunities for them to introduce you to their network. These can be rich opportunities. Do your customers have children? Are they involved with youth teams or activities? Wherever people congregate, is a good place to network.

Another customer related question might be, “Who do your customers do business with?” If you have a customer doing business with the sign shop down the street, you might simply send an email that states, “One of my customers highly recommends your services. His name is Mark. I was hoping we might talk about how you can help me with a unique project we’re working on.” The fact that Mark is a shared customer creates incentive for the sign company to work with you in any way possible.

A third question you should be asking is, “What services do I pay for?” How well do you really know your service providers? Could they serve you better if they knew you better? If they knew you might generate referrals, would that incent them to give you a better deal?

 A question you might be overlooking is, “Who does business with the people I do business with?” For example, as a speaker I do business with event planners. Hotel and conference center sales managers do business with event planners. So, I should be networking with the hotel sales team. I might give them a CD of me speaking or offer to provide a free training day for their staff. In return I might ask that they keep my brochure on hand to give to event planners they meet.

One last question to consider is, “Who can I give value to?” Obviously, these may be potential customers. However, they may just be people who will speak highly of you if you help them solve their problems. And you can’t have too many people singing your praises.

There are three things you need to know to start network marketing right now.

Networking works best when everyone finds value in the network. Value is the greatest reason anyone connects on an emotional level with another person.(listen to Relationships & Business Audio http://www.charlesspeaks.com/momentum-resources ) In other words, if I feel you have helped me, encouraged me or informed me, I find value in that. If I think of you as an asset I am comfortable with investing in our relationship. The most important thing you can do to be successful as a networker is to share ideas, solutions, tips, referrals and support.

Trust is oxygen to relationships. When trust is broken it is like a fist to the diaphragm knocking the wind from our chest. When that blow is dealt, it is unlikely that I will trust again. Safeguard your integrity as if it were your most valued possession- because it is. If you make a mistake, admit it readily. If you drop the ball, inform everyone affected promptly. Even if you think the dropped ball is insignificant, follow-up. You don’t want others hearing comments like, “She took three weeks to get back to me about my premiums.”

Experts at networking understand the value of being outstanding. Make sure you are memorable from exemplary service to your business card. Avoid the ordinary. Make people laugh. Give others something to talk about, you. Of course, you don’t want to be obnoxious, off color, rude or excessively loud. You want to strike a delicate balance between credible and entertaining.

A great networking resource is www.meetup.com. You can join us for a networking event by registering online at www.meetup.com/columbussbn

You can follow Bill the Builder at www.twitter.com/billthebuilder

There are videos at www.charlesspeaks.com and you can email at Charles@charlesspeaks.com

Bill Carpenter is available for keynotes, seminars, personal coaching and webinars.

Every small business owner faces tough times and setbacks. In fact one can almost plan for some. In example, as a speaker there are times when seasonally fewer events are planned meaning the competition is fiercer and I am likely to have a lower number of paid speaking dates during those times. As a result I may plan to use this time to produce or update my line of information products and reach out to customers needing my services in less than a speaking capacity. These predictable patterns in my industry market are called trends. When I am aware of industry trends I can plan, adapt and live better.

I like to think of trends in two categories: long trends and short trends. Short trends are usually driven by events and economics. A good example of a short trend that may lead to numerous long trends worth watching is the evolution of web 2.0 social media. A new technology that is taking the business world by storm is promising to change the way we interact with customers and reach new customers. From Twitter to YouTube there are new opportunities that didn’t exist just a year ago. Long trends are usually more impacted by demographics and geographics and therefore may last longer and even cycle.

Trends are typically cause and effect as a result of changes measured by three sets of data. Geographics is a data set that defines your market in terms or geography, resulting season and weather, culture and local events. Demographics are the data defining the social character of your market, including age, gender, family size, religion, social class and more. Psychographics are the values, beliefs, opinions and attitudes of the groups in your demographics. Each of these data sets is affected over the years. It is important to understand your market.

If you are in the sporting goods industry you would need to know geographically influenced trends such as seasonal changes that accommodate the sale of kayaking equipment versus skiing equipment to a certain group. I did a little demographic research for a client recently who felt that their mostly retired clientele would be a suitable audience for social media interaction. Available demographic data showed quite the contrary.

Another good example is in the real estate industry. If I have a number of rental units that are occupied by families with school age children it is in my best interest to wait until after the school season has begun before raising the rent. If rent is raised over the summer families with children may be more inclined to shop around and move. Families with children will be reluctant to move in the middle of the school season. By the end of the school season they will have acclimated to the new higher rent.

Trends and trend data affect every business. Take a little time to sit back and put in writing how trends affect your business. Identify long and short trends. What trends repeat and why? Based on observable trends when is the best time to try reaching new customers?

Paying attention to the details in your business can save you time and money and help you make more money through the year.

Today’s business culture is changing. According to Smallbiztrends 25% of business startups fail within the first year. More than 50% fail within the first 5 years and only 29% remain in business after 10 years.

So what do these numbers mean for you as a business owner or leader? These numbers mean that in order for your business to succeed you will need cutting edge support and guidance that will make you OUTSTANDING. Buzz words, trends and fads aren’t going to take your business to the next level. charlesspeaks.com has observed the top performing 29% of start-ups over the last two decades to identify the qualities of OUTSTANDING businesses. 

 Here are the top 4 qualities of thriving businesses:

 Innovative

These businesses live on the edge. They are using best business practices sitting on ready for any improvements and willing to try new things. They watch trends to identify the evolution of mainstream. At some point every trend becomes nostalgic or mainstream. Innovative businesses know how to identify the trends that will survive early enough to capitalize on them. Having an effective yet flexible project management methodology in place is critical in today’s culture of rapid change.

Relevant

Remaining relevant in these times requires the quality of innovation. In these changing times what was relevant yesterday is not always relevant tomorrow. OUTSTANDING businesses are constantly evolving to better meet customer needs and expectations. Relevant businesses listen to there customers and watch their competitors attentively. They know how to capitalize on trends whether they become mainstream or not.

 Efficient

OUTSTANDING business are there, they are approachable and follow-through on their commitments. In times when customers are more demanding and competition is fierce it is critical that you have access to the tools and resources needed to do business well and turn on a dime when trends demand. Your marketing, customer relations, processes and products or services need to scream that you understand the first two qualities covered here. If your business card is dated so is your service. Outstanding businesses can’t afford to use dated techniques, strategies or tools. Moving at the speed of innovation requires efficient processes and solutions.

 Outstanding

They are doing the marketing to promote themselves and they aren’t afraid to sell. They are networking and touching people. They have a well defined brand and they build it through creative marketing and social interaction. The top survivors are seen in the public; they are involved in the community and have a hero or celebrity status.

Bill The Builder helps you build on these qualities through branding and marketing efforts that are proven to create celebrity status and profits. Bill will help you develop an OUTSTANDING brand profile, winning customer profile and product and services resources that will cause customers to perceive you as a celebrity they can know and love.

 Bill helps entrepreneurs and established business leaders make themselves and their business more attractive so customers want to do business with you.

 http://www.charlesspeaks.com

charles@charlesspeaks.com

937-935-6789

443 North Main Street Suite 101

West Mansfield, Oh 43358 

Training ~ Coaching ~ Resources ~ Publishing House

Five Laws for Working with Others 

The better I understand myself the better I can work with others. Understanding is the first step to working efficiently with others. From workplace employee management to personal relationships we can only strengthen our ability to communicate, work and live with others by trying to understand them. Author Stephen Covey makes this observation in his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People®.” The fifth habit states that you should first attempt to understand before demanding that you be understood. The problem with understanding is that all too often personal perception and opinion get in the way. Consider the age-old battle of the sexes. After years of deliberation, research and compromise do we really understand our differences any better? Some would debate the answer to this question and rightly so. It would seem that to understand our fellows is made improbable by our many differences. This is especially true when we spend our time focusing on the differences. So here we are going to focus on the things we hold in common.

There are five basic laws of human behavior that impact all of our working and personal relationships. None of us are exempt from these five basic laws. They are at the center of our reasoning, behavior and self image. They become foundational building blocks of all of our relationships.

 All People Are Basically Self Preserving™

This is a powerful law of human behavior. It is best illustrated by the cute little puppy that couldn’t hurt a flea, yet when frightened and backed into a corner with no option for flight becomes a growling, snarling display of intimidating teeth, claws and furry. Have you ever seen a person respond in this way? You may have been surprised by such behavior if it was observed coming from an otherwise passive person. Even kind, caring, friendly people can respond with hostility or aggression when they are pushed, especially if they feel that their welfare is being threatened.

Practical Applications

While this is a powerful law of human behavior most people live out this law with reserve and balance. Unfortunately you will probably cross paths with someone that is in some way emotionally unable to live in balance with this law. The following symptoms may indicate that a person is suffering some emotional handicap in this regard.

• Negativity
• Cynical
• Translate compliments into insults
• Frequent outburst of hostility
• Inability to trust

 If you are observing the above symptoms, my advice is walk softly, consider your words carefully, and in the workplace document, document, document!

Be aware that when people are pushed to the edge of feeling threatened they experience a rush of adrenaline that can throw them from rational reasonable thinking into primitive survival thinking. In this primal state of mind a person may say the unexpected and respond in less than professional ways. You should make yourself familiar with the behavioral indicators that a person is in this state of mind or getting there:

• Irritability
• Raised voice / talking rapidly
• Interrupting you as you talk (if this is unusual to the person)
• Silent starring
• Fidgeting / pacing / trembling
• Defensive communication
• Blaming or negativity (if this is unusual to the person)

 

The best advice is to avoid the self preservation zone. Follow these suggestions to spend less time in the zone:

• Keep a positive attitude
• Praise and affirm people often
• Use diplomacy
• Ask more than you tell
• Keep people informed
• Be fair, honest and supportive At All Times
• Reward performance
• Keep communication open

 

If you find that you are in the zone with a person, hope is not lost. With some honest effort, diplomacy and patience you can move back into the safe zone.

 If the person is heated or borderline hostile, back up, recognize any mistakes, make apologies if needed and try to defuse the situation. It may sound something like this, “Pamela, I feel like I am making you feel frustrated, I am not communicating clearly and I apologize, let me explain how this performance improvement plan can help you with your long-term career goals here.”

  If you can not identify any mistakes you have made and you are certain no apologies are in order, consider that there may be an external source of irritation. Recognize that you are aware that you don’t have the person’s full attention and give them space, aware that they will be easier to manage when they are less distracted. You may sound something like this, “Paul you seem to be a bit irritated and distracted, if I can help you with something that is bothering you, it would be my pleasure, and we could review these reports at another time. Would that be better for you?”

 All People Have a Strong Need for Community and To Feel They Are a Valued Part™

While the law of self preservation is powerful it seems to come second to this law of community. Consider the soldier that has made it safe into the trenches only to look back and find that a comrade is down, with a rush he charges from the safety of the trenches risking his own life to save the life of another. This type of reaction is a response to the law of community.

While the law of community seems to be greater and more powerful than the law of self preservation, in reality it is born out of our need for self preservation. This leads us to understand why individuals can become aggressive or even hostile when their sense of self-worth or community reputation is put at risk or not taken seriously. Research clearly indicates that there seems to be a strong connection between community isolation or rejection and outbursts of violence. Basically people need to feel that they fit in and belong and that they are recognized and appreciated.

 Practical Applications

 In a workplace environment where communication is limited to reprimands, formal performance evaluations and requests there is an obvious increase of conflict and hostility. Performance usually suffers as well. When people are not informed, recognized and confirmed they become uncertain. They begin questioning their own sense of worth and belonging as well as their job security. When there is uncertainty employees tend to stand around and do nothing, or they start trying to fix themselves, often fixing the wrong things. To eliminate and avoid uncertainty make consistent feedback a habit. Employees need to hear and or know the following:

• That their performance meets your expectations
• That their unique strengths are recognize
• That their attempts to grow and improve are recognized
• That you’re concerned about them
• That you support them
• That they are informed about important issues

 

Make feedback a work habit. Try scheduling a time every day to get out of your office and walk among your employees. Spend this time trying to catch them doing well. Give achievers and those making marked improvement the proverbial pat on the back. This is not to say that negative feedback should be avoided. Quiet the contrary. You will find that when you do have bad news people will respond more positively if you have been consistently positive. You are not seen as a tyrant. Try the following suggestions to make your feed back more effective.

 When Praising…

•  Be prompt.
• Be specific. (Avoid generalizations like, “You did a great job.”)
• Be honest.
• Be sincere. (Stand still and take at least one minute to share the praise. Make eye contact.)
• Avoid flattery.
• Give special effort to identify strengths unique to the individual.

 

When News is Bad…

•  Make sure the information is relevant to the individual
• Chose an appropriate setting.
• Be solution oriented.
• Take time to listen.
• Avoid the lecture.
• Be honest and thorough.

 One sided communication does not contribute to a sense of community or personal self worth. It is so important that in all of your efforts to communicate you do not frustrate the others involved by monopolizing the conversations. Be a listener. One of the top three complaints in the workplace is, “nobody listens.” When people feel they are not heard they feel they are not valued. This leads to uncertainty, unhealthy assumptions and often negativity.

 If you do not already have an open door policy, establish open door hours. I think that an open all hours, open door policy is best, but it isn’t always practical. The important point is to make yourself available and approachable. Keep in mind also that you may have an open door policy but a closed mind. If employees get the idea that you don’t really listen or take them seriously they will stop communicating and the sense of community will erode leading to negativity, lack of commitment and lower performance.

Finally, it is critical that everyone in your work environment share your vision for a strong sense of community.  Talk about the value of this principal and the power of this law of human behavior. Talk, encourage and exemplify peer support. Encourage open communication. Provide diversity training. Use team terms like, us, we, our and all. Do team building exercises and brainstorm and plan as a team. The more involvement you facilitate the stronger your team will become. This leads us to identify our third law of human behavior.

All People Commit More Readily to Their Own Ideas™

 It is empowering to recognize peoples need for recognition. It is when I begin recognizing people that I can clearly identify their strengths and their weaknesses. As I recognize an individuals strength I can begin delegating and managing with greater insight and human value that cultivates trust. As the individual learns to trust me I can coach, counsel and mentor them to strengthen areas of weakness. This kind of recognition and passionate leadership creates a dynamic environment where creativity becomes our competitive edge in the market place.

 When people feel that their ideas are not heard or implemented then they assume that they are note recognized, cared for or important leading to a strong sense of isolation. This isolation nearly always translates into negativity, lowered morale and high employee turnover which means lost profits.

Practical Applications

 While we can not always turn to the employee to solve problems or plan future growth and performance we can do more to involve them any time it is possible. People don’t expect to be heard all of the time but they must feel that they are heard.

Communicate openly and ask lots of questions of your people any time there are major changes, especially if the changes affect them directly. When you have a problem to solve take it to the team any time policies, time and ethics will allow it. No one knows like those who do the work how performance can be improved, so when it is time to raise the bar ask for employee input. Ask employees for input when redefining mission and goal statements. Failure to encourage input is the number one reason why employees don’t commit to mission and goal statements making them fruitless.

 To create an environment where people openly share ideas you must follow a few leadership rules. The first, being the rule of impartiality. Don’t play favorites and if anyone is to be heard, make everyone heard as much as possible. The second rule is simply good work ethics, give credit where it is due. There is nothing more devastating to creativity than for leadership to unduly take credit for great ideas. Last but not least, implement ideas promptly and when you can’t, offer an explanation.

 Get in the habit of asking questions. Asking a question effectively is a learned skill and the more you practice the better you will become. If you aren’t asking, you probably won’t get much information. Try scripting. There are three easy steps to scripting:

 1.      Put a question in writing.

2.      Think about how the other party will answer.

3.      Rewrite the question in a way that may get a different response.

You should be using some of the following questions often:

• How do you feel about…?
• How would you suggest…?
• Which approach would you choose?
• Could I do this differently?
• Do you know of an easier way?

 

When People Make Massive Change in a Short Amount of Time They Tend to Revert Back to Old Habits Quickly™

You have likely heard it said that, “people don’t like change.” This is in part very true, but what people like less than change is uncertainty. In fact, studies show that people actually favor change when they are well informed, they have time to adjust and they have some control or a part in the planning process.

 Change is an inevitable part of our world. Nothing stays the same for long. To resist change is career suicide. To carelessly embrace every new idea is personal sabotage. There must be some happy medium. I have found that for myself and countless others I have coached and counseled through change that it is the small changes we embrace consistently that seem to make the greatest impact. Small changes made over time will make a huge difference.  I have made my greatest achievements by implementing this small change concept.

Practical Applications

 I have seen employees boost performance just after a sharp reprimand from their supervisor. These reprimands are often short, to the point, demanding and threatening. The reprimanded employee immediately starts making massive improvements that seem impressive for two, three or maybe even four weeks, and then with the grind of routine, stress and responsibility he or she will revert back to old work habits. Lasting change is best made in small steps.

 When you find it is necessary to reprimand an employee, try to identify the root of the poor performance or unacceptable behavior. Avoid generalities and always communicate positively with a solution mentality that challenges the poor performer to identify one small change that can be implemented immediately. Clearly identify a plan of action and remind the employee that you are there to support them as they make the change. Follow-up with the employee to reinforce improvements you have observed.

 “What small changes can you make to perform just a little bit better today than you did yesterday?” This question should be at the heart of performance improvement. It may sound like this: “Candice I wanted to comment that the changes you’ve made recently have really made a positive impact on your upcoming evaluation. With just a little more effort I think you can be one of our top performers. Can you think of any other time wasters that we can eliminate in your work habits?”

 Following are some small change tips that will help:

• Keep employees informed of changes and take small steps to prepare.
• If changes are not producing the results you want then take action promptly.
• If changes are producing the results you want then praise and affirm the employee.
• Make small change a way of life in your environment.
• Have brainstorming sessions to identify needed changes.
• Teach, mentor and communicate the importance of the “small change” concept.

 

Perception is Reality™

 It is a fact that what I believe to be a fact, is in fact a fact to me. When we underestimate the power of personal perception we are certain to experience communication and relational breakdown. My perceptions of you, my job, myself and my surroundings are built upon a foundation of personal experiences including pain and pleasure.

 What I have experienced in the past influences what I believe about what I experience today. We all see and perceive the world around us through personal information filters called paradigms and for many of us a paradigm shift is in order. This information filter can beautify the world around us or make it really ugly. A young man that had been sexually violated by a female when he was a boy found it impossible to trust the opposite sex, he felt that they were all out to control and manipulate him. Nothing could have been farther from reality but as a counselor I had to take his perceptions seriously and walk him through small changes to change his paradigms about women.

 Consider these paradigm concerns:

• About men
• Abut women
• About other races
• About authority figures
• About crowded places
• About change

 

Practical Applications

 When you overlook people’s personal perceptions they may feel that you don’t take them seriously or that you don’t listen. You are also at risk when you take what others say at face value without considering how their personal perceptions may have impacted what they are sharing with you.

A person’s daily communication will tell you a lot about their personal perceptions if you are listening. Here are a few cues to consider.

•  Negative statements about the opposite sex in general
• Negative statements about authority figures
• Humor at the expense of others
• Unusual behavior in certain circumstances
• Inability to reason or rationalize a situation

 Kevin has told you that Mike is being belligerent, self-centered, controlling and doesn’t listen to the ideas of others. You know that this is unlike Mike and that you are hearing just the opposite from others. You may respond like this: “Kevin I understand you are frustrated with Mike and I want to help you resolve this. Since this is the first time I’ve heard anything like this about Mike I would like for you to give me some more details and explain why you feel this way.” Following are a few suggestions for dealing with other’s perceptions.

•  Take the persons perceptions and feelings seriously.
• Repeat back to them what you think they have just told you.
• Avoid agreeing or sounding agreeable unless you do and should agree at this time.
• Give the person an opportunity to talk, don’t monopolize the conversation.
• Be honest but diplomatic.
• Don’t play therapist.
• Don’t pretend to have all the answers or feel pressured to answer immediately.

 I share the five laws in many of my leadership and communication seminars as well as diversity training. What many tell me is that simply becoming aware of these basic laws and considering the impact they have on relationships has been a great benefit to them. My challenge to you is that you attempt to apply these five laws to all of your relationship building skills.

  Charles Carpenter is a nationally recognized leadership expert. He received leadership and communication training from the prestigious Rockhurst University. In recent years he has trained and coached executives from numerous Fortune 500 companies and shared his leadership insight with thousands through public seminars, conferences and keynotes and is the president of Success Solutions Group. Charles may be reached at 1.937.935.6789